1. The Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of medical treatment, and is a system and method for recommending an intravenous device for intravenous infusion therapy of a patient.
2. The Background Art
Intravenous infusion therapy is often used to administer medications or other intravenous fluids, collectively referred to herein as infusions, directly into the circulatory system of a patient. Intravenous devices are used in intravenous infusion therapy for insertion into the patient's body to provide a means of delivery of the infusion. Intravenous devices may also be used to administer blood and blood products, nutrition solutions, and even for blood withdrawal for testing.
When the infusion involves a medication it is typically composed of a prescribed drug and in some cases a diluent. The infusion is placed in a container such as a bag, bottle, or syringe and is hung from a rack above the patient. In one approach, gravity dictates the flow of the infusion to the patient. In this method, a tube leads from the container to an intravenous device which is inserted into a peripheral vein or into another area of the patient's body. Alternatively, an infusion pump may be employed to provide a steady prescribed flow or push of the infusion to the patient. With this method, the tube leads from the container to an infusion pump. The infusion pump provides a user interface to allow control of the flow of the infusion into the patient. The infusion pump is equipped with an output tube which leads to an intravenous device which is inserted into the patient.
Several different intravenous devices exist for insertion into the peripheral veins of a patient to thereby provide delivery of an infusion. Common intravenous devices include infusion needles which are used for single dose administrations into the small peripheral vein in the lower arms or hands.
Other intravenous devices are designed for administrations of multiple doses and include winged infusion needles, peripheral intravenous catheters, midline catheters, peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC), and surgically placed catheters or ports. Peripheral intravenous catheters and winged infusion needles are inserted into a small peripheral vein in the lower arms and hands. With peripheral intravenous catheters, the entry site must be changed every few days or as required. The peripheral intravenous catheter is often used for short-term therapy or it may be used until a long-term access device can be inserted.
A midline catheter is an intravenous catheter inserted in the anticubital area of the arm. The midline catheter may be up to eight inches in length. With proper care a midline catheter may be left in place from 2 to 6 weeks or longer. Accordingly, midline catheters are typically used for intermediate term therapies.
A PICC is a long catheter composed of a soft material which is inserted in the anticubital area of the arm and threaded into the superior vena cava above the right atrium. The PICC may be up to 25 inches in length and is threaded along the course of the veins to a location deep in the large veins of the chest. PICCs are a very special type of intravenous catheter and a chest X-ray is usually done to confirm that the PICC is in the correct location. With proper care a PICC may be left in place for 6 months or as long as the therapy may be prescribed. Hence, PICC catheters are ideally suited for long term therapy.
Surgically placed catheters or ports are inserted under the skin in the upper chest area. These intravenous devices are threaded through the major neck vein such as the subclavian vein and into a larger chest vein such as the superior vena cava. The tip of these intravenous devices may rest in the atrium of the heart. These devices are intended for long term therapy and need removal only if complications arise.
Selection of an appropriate intravenous device requires careful consideration to ensure that the infusion is properly administered. Some factors in selecting an appropriate intravenous devices include the drug and the diluent in the infusion, the dosage of the infusion, the length of the therapy, the evasiveness of the intravenous device, the dwell time of the intravenous device in the body, and the vascular integrity of the patient's peripheral veins. The patient's vascular integrity will effect how the veins are accessed and how much pressure is applied to the veins. The intravenous device must also provide a proper dose rate and an equal distribution of the infusion over time. For example, some infusions are administered in a bolus dose for quicker absorption while other infusions will have smaller doses for slower absorption by the patient. A patient may be unduly harmed or the effectiveness of the infusion treatment may be compromised by an inappropriate intravenous device.
With the exception of surgically placed catheters, the infusion is often administered to the patient by a clinician other than the physician. Often times the clinician administering the drug is not an infusion expert and has limited experience in the field. The clinician must have adequate knowledge regarding the operation and application of different types of intravenous devices available. Clinicians administrating intravenous devices must also be aware of the advances and developments in intravenous devices. Because of financial constraints, medical facilities are not always able to staff clinicians who are expert in infusion therapy. Recent trends in the medical field indicate a reduced number of intravenous infusion therapy experts. With the various intravenous devices available and numerous potential complications, selection of an intravenous device for treatment is confusing and complex to the un-experienced clinician.
In selecting the appropriate intravenous device, the clinician is advised to perform a series of computations to determine the characteristics of the infusion. Such computations are time consuming and subject to human error. Furthermore, clinicians with inadequate experience or training will be unable to properly perform the computations. The clinician must also choose an intravenous device based on the physical characteristics of the patient, the delivery method, and therapy length. These and other factors must be carefully considered and weighed against one another in order to select an appropriate device. Such a decision can be confusing and ambiguous to the untrained clinician. Ideally, selection is made based on the advice of an infusion therapy expert. However, as mentioned previously, infusion therapy experts are not always present and this can result in inappropriate selection of an intravenous device.
Computer systems have been successfully incorporated into a variety of applications, such as agriculture, chemistry, engineering, finance, management, health care, manufacturing and others. In the field of health care, hospitals and medical laboratories have used computers to analyze blood and run certain tests. Computer systems have also been established for recommending drug therapies for certain types of cancers. Other computer systems have been established for recommending therapeutic drugs for nervous system disorders. Some computer systems have been designed for recommending treatment of more specific disorders such as breast cancer and hepatitis. Still other computer systems have addressed treatments in the fields of epilepsy, poison control, childbirth, and physical rehabilitation.
Although the previous computer systems have been designed to address a relatively wide range of health care concerns, little has been done in the area of intravenous infusion therapy. None of the previously mentioned computer systems designed for health care applications have provided the ability to assist a clinician in the selection of an intravenous device.
From the foregoing it will be appreciated that it would be an advancement in the art to provide a computer system and method to aid a clinician in recommending an intravenous device for intravenous infusion therapy.
It would be a further advancement in the art to provide a computer system and method which bases its recommendation of an intravenous device on the physical characteristics of the infusion and the patient as entered by the clinician.
It would be another advancement in the art to provide a computer system and method for recommending an intravenous device which is simple to understand and operate.
It would be yet another advancement in the art to provide a computer system and method for recommending an intravenous device which may be updated to keep pace with advances in intravenous infusion therapy.
Such a device is disclosed herein.